Yankee Institute for Public Policy

Last updated
Yankee Institute for Public Policy
Yankee Institute Logo.png
Established1984
Chair Daniel Gressel
President Carol Platt Liebau
BudgetRevenue: $2.29 million
Expenses: $1.44 million
(FYE December 2021) [1]
Address216 Main Street Hartford, CT 06106
Location
Coordinates 41°46′13″N72°39′42″W / 41.7702°N 72.6617°W / 41.7702; -72.6617
Website yankeeinstitute.org

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy is a conservative [2] [3] American think tank based in Hartford, Connecticut, that researches Connecticut public policy questions. Organized as a 501(c)(3), the group's stated mission is to "develop and advocate for free market, limited government public policy solutions in Connecticut." [4] Yankee was founded in 1984 by Bernard Zimmern, a French entrepreneur who was living in Norwalk, Connecticut, and professor Gerald Gunderson of Trinity College. [4] The organization is a member of the State Policy Network. [5]

Contents

In April 2022, the Yankee Institute launched Connecticut Inside Investigator, a non-profit investigative journalism outlet. [6]

Public policy research

Tax and budget

The Yankee Institute has had a historic focus on Connecticut's tax and budget issues. In 1991, during the debate over the adoption of a state income tax, it published A Connecticut Assessment of State Income Taxation: Fueling the Government, Stalling the Economy by Thomas Dye, a professor at Florida State University, about the likely impact of an income tax on the state's economic growth. [7]

The 2010 Yankee publication Connecticut Taxes and Fees was highlighted by the Hartford Courant as "a look at how many ways the government collects money from the citizens it serves." [8]

The Yankee Institute has come into conflict with labor unions on multiple occasions. [2] [3] [9] The group gained increased attention in the early 2010s for its criticism of labor unions representing government employees. [2] During this time, the think tank was subject to a failed lawsuit alleging that it had interfered with public sector union's contract negotiations. [2]

Government transparency

Government accountability and transparency research have emerged as key areas of interest for the Yankee Institute. In 2010, the organization launched the Connecticut Sunlight Project to monitor government spending. The CT Sunlight Project was expanded during the summer of 2010 to include payroll and pension data for local governments and school districts in Connecticut.

In July 2010, the Yankee Institute launched the investigative reporting project Raising Hale to "uncover wasteful government spending" and "expose government corruption and abuse." [10]

Education

Education research has been a signature issue for the Yankee Institute starting with its organization of a conference on school choice at Trinity College in 1988. [4] The organization has published numerous studies on the topic, including the December 2007 Ending Corruption and Waste in Your Public School by Dr. Armand Fusco, a retired superintendent of schools from the town of Branford, the report Free College for High School Students by Dr. Lewis Andrews, and the June 2009 How to Reduce Property Taxes with a Citizens' Audit Committee by Dr. Armand Fusco and Dr. Lewis Andrews. [11] [ better source needed ] The think tank gained attention in 2004 when it proposed that the state pay high school students to graduate early, which it said would save the state money. [2]

Government administration and elections reform

Yankee research has delved into reforms of the state's campaign finance laws. The Yankee Institute published Slanting the Playing Field: Connecticut's Flawed Publicly-Financed Campaign System detailing the policy flaws in Connecticut's Citizens' Election Program, a publicly funded alternative campaign financing system available to candidates for state offices.

The Yankee Institute filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett in November 2010. [12]

Transportation

The Yankee Institute has argued against the phasing out of internal combustion engine vehicle sales. [13] In its arguments, it has highlighted the role of child labor in the supply chain of electric vehicles, the use of "energy-intensive machinery which runs on various forms of petroleum", and the role of China in the manufacturing of many electric vehicles. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Simmons</span> American politician (born 1943)

Robert Ruhl "Rob" Simmons is an American politician and retired U.S. Army colonel who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007, representing Connecticut's 2nd congressional district as a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosa DeLauro</span> American politician (born 1943)

Rosa Luisa DeLauro is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for Connecticut's 3rd congressional district since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is based in New Haven and includes most of its suburbs. DeLauro is the dean of Connecticut's congressional delegation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowell Weicker</span> American politician (1931–2023)

Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the 85th Governor of Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodi Rell</span> Governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011

Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell is an American former politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004 under Governor John G. Rowland, and became governor after Rowland resigned from office. As of 2024, Rell is the very last Republican and woman to officially serve as Governor of Connecticut to date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Bysiewicz</span> American politician (born 1961)

Susan Bysiewicz is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 109th lieutenant governor of Connecticut since 2019. She previously served as the 72nd secretary of the state of Connecticut from 1999 to 2011 and a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999.

Philip E. Austin is an American economist who served as the 13th president of the University of Connecticut from October 1, 1996 to September 14, 2007. He returned to serve as interim president in May 2010 following the abrupt departure of Michael J. Hogan. Prior to UConn, Austin served as president of Colorado State University (1984–1989) and chancellor of the University of Alabama System (1989–1996).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ned Lamont</span> Governor of Connecticut since 2019

Edward Miner Lamont Jr. is an American businessman and politician serving since January 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich selectman from 1987 to 1989 and was the party's nominee for the United States Senate in 2006, losing to incumbent Joe Lieberman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CT Transit</span> Brand of commuter bus operations in Connecticut, USA

CT Transit is a public transportation bus system serving many metropolitan areas and their surrounding suburbs in the state of Connecticut. CT Transit is a division of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, although it contracts a number of private companies for most of its operations. CT Transit began operations in 1976 as Connecticut Transit after the Connecticut DOT's acquisition of the Connecticut Company. Initially serving only the Hartford, New Haven, and Stamford areas, CT Transit's service now extends throughout much of Connecticut. CT Transit provides local "city bus" service in Bristol, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, Stamford, Wallingford and Waterbury in addition to a number of express routes connecting to outlying suburbs and other regions of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas C. Foley</span> American politician and businessman

Thomas Coleman Foley is an American politician and businessman. He served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 2006 to 2009 and was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Governor of Connecticut in 2010 and 2014.

Matthew L. Lesser is an American politician who represents the 9th district in the Connecticut State Senate. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the State House in 2008, and re-elected in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. He won election to the state Senate from the 9th district in 2018, and was reelected in 2020 and 2022. Lesser unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Connecticut Secretary of the State in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut State University System</span> Public university system in Connecticut

The Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) is a system of six public colleges and universities that include four Connecticut State Universities, Connecticut State Community College, and Charter Oak State College, the state's only online college. CSCU enrolls 85,000 students in certificate and degree programs and provides programs in liberal arts, sciences, fine arts, applied fields, and professional disciplines.

Tony Hwang is an American real estate agent and politician. A Republican, he is a member of the Connecticut State Senate, for the 28th District, which covers parts of Fairfield County. Previously, Hwang as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives for the 134th District in the Connecticut General Assembly. Hwang became a state representative in 2008 and won re-election in 2010 and 2012. He was elected to the state Senate in 2014 and subsequently reelected. He is the assistant Senate Minority Leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason L. McCoy</span> American lawyer and former mayor

Jason L. McCoy is the former mayor of Vernon, Connecticut, and a trial lawyer. In 2009, McCoy was elected to his first term in 2007. McCoy was re-elected as mayor. He had served on the Vernon Town Council and was the deputy mayor of Vernon from 2005 to 2007. In 2009, McCoy was one of six mayors in Connecticut chosen by the Governor M. Jodi Rell to work closely with state officials and lawmakers to identify savings and recommend mandate relief to help close Connecticut's state budget shortfall. McCoy served as mayor of a municipality that holds town meetings to pass the mayor's yearly proposed municipal budget, which can then be sent to referendum for approval by privately cast ballot. During McCoy's two terms as mayor of Vernon he proposed and passed four municipal budgets. The Town of Vernon municipal budgets during McCoy's terms as mayor resulted in the municipal tax rate or mil rate needed to fund the municipal budget being reduced in the 2008–09, 2009–10 budgets, the 2010–11 tax rate or mil rate remained the same. In the 2011–12 budget the tax rate was cut which resulted in a taxes cut to the taxpayers in the Town of Vernon, Connecticut. The 2011–12 budget proposal was passed and adopted at the annual town meeting as opposed to being sent to referendum.

The Board of Regents for Higher Education (BOR) is a government body in the U.S. state of Connecticut that oversees the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU). CSCU and the BOR were created on July 1, 2011, consolidating the governance of the state's twelve community colleges, four state universities, and Charter Oak State College. The BOR assumed the powers and responsibilities of the respective former Boards of Trustees and the Board for State Academic Awards; it also retains many responsibilities for setting statewide policy of the former Board of Governors for Higher Education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Stefanowski</span> Candidate for Governor of Connecticut in 2018 and 2022

Robert Vincent Stefanowski is an American businessman and politician.

The Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) was a juvenile prison in Middletown, Connecticut, that operated under the Connecticut Department of Children and Families from 2001 to 2018. Established in proximity to the Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH), CJTS held male inmates age 12–17 with capacity for 240 inmates. In 2021, Connecticut governor Ned Lamont announced that he was considering reopening the prison to hold immigrant children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Connecticut gubernatorial election</span>

The 2022 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Connecticut. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ned Lamont ran for re-election to a second term in office. The race simultaneously took place with the election to the state's Class III Senate seat. This election featured a rematch of the previous 2018 gubernatorial election, pitting Lamont against Republican Bob Stefanowski, whom he previously defeated by 3.2% of the vote. This time Lamont won re-election by a wider margin, becoming the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election by more than 5 points in the state since 1986.

Miles S. Rapoport is an American politician who served as Secretary of the State of Connecticut from 1995 to 1999. A progressive Democrat, he went on to serve as president of Demos and Common Cause.

As of July 2023, there were about 36,000 electric vehicles registered in Connecticut. About 25% of vehicles registered in the state between July and December 2021 were electric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Pierson</span>

Emily Pierson was an American suffragist and physician. Early in her career, Pierson worked as a teacher, and then later, as an organizer for the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (CWSA). After women earned the right to vote, she went back to school to become a physician in her hometown of Cromwell, Connecticut. During much of her life, she was interested in socialism, studying and observing in both Russia and China.

References

  1. "Yankee Institute for Public Policy". ProPublica. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Reindl, JC (2011-07-31). "Yankee Institute rises to challenge as conservative voice in Connecticut". The Day . Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  3. 1 2 Bergman, Julia (2022-04-06). "In battle of advocates, left-leaning group attacks conservative Yankee Institute". www.ctinsider.com. Hearst Communications . Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  4. 1 2 3 "About Us". Yankee Institute. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  5. "Yankee Institute for Public Policy". State Policy Network. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  6. "Announcing the launch of Connecticut Inside Investigator" (PDF). Yankee Institute for Public Policy . 2022-04-20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  7. Bolduc, Brian (July 31, 2009). "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  8. Lender, Jon (May 23, 2010). "Tracking Revenue Sources". Hartford Courant . Archived from the original on 2012-05-31. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  9. "Yankee Institute: Small Office, Big Influence". Hartford Courant . 2011-07-20. Archived from the original on 2023-09-02. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  10. McGann, Laura (February 9, 2010). "The other nonprofit journalism: Free-market groups hire reporters to uncover "wasteful spending"". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  11. Powell, Jim (May 28, 2009). "Beyond Tea Parties — A New Way for Taxpayers to Fight Back". Cato Institute. Fox News. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  12. McQuaid, Hugh (November 30, 2010). "U.S. Supreme Court To Review Publicly Funded Political Campaigns". CT News Junkie. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  13. 1 2 Stannard, Ed (2023-08-22). "CT's electric vehicle debate brings out passion and anger. Don't 'follow that communist cesspool California,' resident pleads". Hartford Courant . Archived from the original on 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2023-09-02.